This invention relates to a bracket for use in a sawhorse, roadside barricade or other multiple piece stand.
Wooden sawhorses have been used by carpenters and others in the construction industry for many years. Normally, these devices are manufactured by simply nailing together a number of 2xc3x974""s or other wooden components. One of the components forms a horizontal beam and typically 2 pairs of diverging legs are attached to depend from the beam. These types of sawhorses are usually constructed in a fairly hurried manner on the job site and oftentimes do not provide satisfactory support. Such sawhorses are apt to collapse under heavy and/or shifting loads.
Various brackets have been developed to facilitate and improve sawhorse assembly. These products feature a fairly intricate and complicated construction. In many cases, they are designed so that the sawhorse is able to collapse. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,461,370, 4,238,001, 4,730,698 and 5,779,003. Due to the collapsibility of these products, they are apt to be somewhat weaker than is desirable. The hinged interconnections of the brackets are usually not able to withstand heavy loads, which are often encountered in the construction industry. Moreover, although collapsibility is sometimes a desirable feature, hinged brackets provide the sawhorse with less than optimal stability.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved bracket for providing a more stable, supportive and durable sawhorse.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a strong, rugged sawhorse bracket that enables the sawhorse to stability and securely support very large weights.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sawhorse bracket that permits a sawhorse to be assembled quickly and effectively on a job site.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sawhorse bracket that is convenient to transport between work locations.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sawhorse bracket that permits the sawhorse to be quickly and conveniently disassembled when use of the sawhorse is no longer required.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sawhorse bracket that evenly and effectively distributes the weight of a load supported by the sawhorse.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a sawhorse bracket that employs a simple and easy to manufacture design, without moving parts.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a bracket that may be used effectively in the assembly of roadside barricades and other support stands.
This invention results from a realization that an improved bracket for a sawhorse and other types of support stands may be accomplished by mounting a longitudinal beam between a pair of brackets, each of which includes a U-shaped channel that receives a portion of the beam. The invention results from the further realization that an even stronger and more stable bracket is achieved by employing a pair of diverging leg accommodating receptacles that are juxtaposed along and fixed to each channel. Each receptacle is provided with a recess that is fixedly engaged with both a base of the channel and a respective upturned side wall of the channel. In this manner, the weight of the object supported on the beam is distributed evenly through the diverging leg accommodating receptacles and into the legs of the sawhorse.
This invention features a bracket for a sawhorse or other multiple piece stand, which stand includes a plurality of elongate legs and an elongate beam supported substantially horizontally by the legs. The bracket includes a generally U-shaped channel for receiving the beam. The channel includes a base and a pair of side walls attached unitarily to and extending upwardly from the base. There are a pair of leg accommodating receptacles fixedly joined to the channel. A first receptacle has a first recess that fixedly interengages the base and the first one of the side walls of the channel. A second receptacle has a second recess that fixedly interengages the base and a second one of the side walls of the channel. The receptacles are juxtaposed along and extend divergently from the channel. Each receptacle is capable of receiving a respective leg, which legs are engaged with a substantially horizontal surface to support the beam above the surface.
In a preferred embodiment, the receptacles include respective tubular components. Each tubular component may have a generally rectangular cross sectional shape. The first recess may include a pair of substantially aligned notches in one of the tubular components, each of which fixedly interengages the base and the first side wall of the channel. The second recess may include a pair of substantially aligned notches in the other tubular component. Each such notch fixedly interengages the base and a second side wall of the channel. The channel and the tubular components may include respective longitudinal axes that are orientated at obtuse angles relative to one another.
The channel may include at least two holes for receiving a connector that is attachable to the beam. Likewise, each receptacle may include at least one hole for receiving a connector that is attachable to the beam.
Preferably, a sawhorse is constructed by employing a pair of brackets as described above. The channel and the receptacles may be fixedly interconnected by welding the receptacles to the channel. Alternatively, the channels and the receptacle may feature a one piece, molded plastic construction.